Massachusetts State Trooper Ross Huber is giving one last sweep of the roads before heading in for the night. The nor’easter hitting the Boston area is worse than expected by an order of magnitude, and the governor has just issued a travel ban. Ross finds a wrecked car half-buried in a snowbank and rescues its human and canine occupants from carbon monoxide poisoning, but is forced to take shelter with them in a vacant or abandoned house when the roads are blocked. When he gets the victims indoors, he thinks the human looks uncomfortably familiar ... Ash Machado has been through a lot in his career as a war correspondent. Sidelined by an injury, he’s returned to Boston to take up a job as a news anchor. After he loses control of his car on an icy road, he wakes up in an unfamiliar home, looking into the face of the guy who broke his heart in college. Neither Ross nor Ash are the same men they used to be, but now they’re trapped in the abandoned house with no place to go. Can they get past old hurts long enough to get through the storm, or will the same misunderstandings that drove them apart years ago make this confinement unbearable?

Snowed In: Ross and Ashton

“The civilian has some old injuries that affect his ability to participate in rescue efforts,” he reported. Ash elbowed him in the side with his good arm. “His bout of carbon monoxide poisoning doesn’t seem to have had any lasting effects, though.”


“Excellent. We’re going to do everything in our power to get to you before that thing goes down, okay? Sit tight. It shouldn’t be long now.”


“Yes, sir.” Ross exhaled. He could see a light at the end of this long-ass tunnel. “Hear that, Ash? It won’t be long now.”


Porthos wagged his tail, thumping it against the floor. Ash nodded, but he just looked away. “Sorry. I’m not going to be comfortable until we’re actually out of here and we get to someplace safe.” He managed a shaky grin. “Force of habit, I guess.” He looked down for a second. “What’s your plan for after we get out of here?”


Chapter 27